TROY -- Pepper balls were released, police horses were mounted and police K9s were let loose in an unruly crowd at the Rensselaer County Jail on Friday, but fortunately it was part of a regional training exercise.

There were 20 different law enforcement agencies from the Northeast participated in training exercises for K9s, with one of the exercises involving an unruly crowd and members of law enforcement trying to control it.

For the crowd control exercise, police horses were also used to help acclimate some of the K9s with working alongside them. Rensselaer County Sheriff's Deputy and K9 handler Sandy Blodgett said it is not only helpful to the dogs but also to their handlers.

"The majority of the dogs are not used to working with horses," Blodgett said. "This allows the K9, and their handlers, to work alongside the horses."

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With the possibility of participating in mutual aid situations, which Blodgett said could happen not only in the cities of Troy and Albany but also areas in Vermont and Massachusetts, then the dogs would be properly prepared to handle working with horses. She added, though, it may take more than one training exercise for the dogs and horses to get used to each other. There are even some dogs that stay in the barns where the horses are kept.

"If a dog is not used to the horse, there could be an accident," Blodgett said. "The last thing we want to see is someone getting hurt, animal or person."

The training exercise showed the horses leading the way, pushing back the crowd as they continue to grow increasingly more hostile. An officer would then let loose one of the K9s and one of the participants wearing the protective suit would be brought down.

Also being done were area searches where dogs search for a suspect and vehicle stops where a dog can find either drugs or explosives.

Working with the various other law enforcement agencies can be a big help, Blodgett said, adding if any of those in the northeast call for assistance she said she would most likely respond. She also said it is helpful to work with as many trainers as you can since they can offer different perspectives and tactics.

"We're able to make a lot of contacts, which is really nice," Blodgett said.

The department currently has eight K9s, four of them labs and the other four are German shepherds. Blodgett said Sheriff Jack Mahar is a big fan of K9 training, adding he is a handler as well. She added this type of training with the dogs happens four times a year but officers are required to do 16 hours of training a month with the dogs as well.

The dogs are a great asset to the department, Blodgett said, as they are useful in tracking people, whether it be a child, someone with Alzheimer's or even a suspect. She also said they are very helpful when doing car searches.

"I've gone through cars without finding anything in them," Blodgett said. "The dog will be in there for two minutes and come up with something."